What A Jedi Can't Give
by EsmeAmelia
Summary: When young Ben Solo suffers a great loss, he thinks his uncle can fix everything.


AN: I do not own Star Wars. Again. Still. Anyway, my fanfic "Change" mentions that Ben had a stillborn little sister, and I thought I'd write a little more about that.

"What A Jedi Can't Give"

By EsmeAmelia

"Han, I'm so, _so_ sorry."

Han practically collapsed into Luke's arms as soon as the Jedi entered the Solos' apartment. His eyes were red, sporting dark circles under them, and his skin was pale. Luke suspected that if it weren't for the fact that Han had to take care of Ben by himself while Leia remained in the hospital, the former smuggler might be drowning his sorrow in alcohol right now, but Han couldn't leave his son alone in his grief.

"How's Leia doing?"

Han sniffled as he pulled out of the embrace. "Not too good. The birth was . . . rough on her . . . we're gonna go see her at the hospital later on." He sniffled again, brushing his finger under his nose. "They're also s'posed to deliver Treyla's coffin tomorrow . . . her little baby coffin . . ."

With that, he broke down in sobs, burying his face in his hands. Luke gently patted his brother-in-law on the back as he carefully urged him into the living room, trying not to think about his dead niece who never got a chance to live, blinking away his own tears.

He had to stay strong for Han and Ben.

"How's Ben?" Luke asked hesitantly.

Han wiped his hand over his eyes. "Hasn't talked much. I think he had nightmares last night, but he wouldn't tell me what they were."

"Where is he?"

"In . . . in what was gonna be Treyla's room. Been there all day." He gulped, looking at his brother-in-law with tear-filled eyes.

Luke patted Han's shoulder. "Do you think you feel up to going in there?"

After another sniffle, Han gave a weak nod. "Yeah. It probably ain't good for him to be alone in there too much."

The two men made their way to the baby's bedroom as slowly as possible. It had only been maybe a week since Han and a very pregnant Leia had proudly shown off the baby's new bedroom to Luke and Ben had shown off all the little dresses and toys that would belong to his little sister.

A week? It felt like much, much longer.

The room was the same way it had been when Luke had first seen it – the walls painted baby blue, the cradle in the corner, the changing table next to the opposite wall, the dresser stuffed with baby clothes, and the toys arranged around everything. Ben was slumped down against the cradle, blankly making a toy Ewok float around with the Force, his eyes as red and puffy as his father's.

Luke cleared his throat. "Hey Ben." It was the only thing he could think of to say. What were you supposed to say to a nine-year-old whose mother was in the hospital after giving birth to a dead baby?

Ben seemed to perk up a little to see his uncle. "Uncle Luke," he said in a voice that sounded a little too hopeful for someone who had just lost a sister. The Ewok fell to the floor as Ben leapt to his feet and rushed up to Luke.

Luke wrapped his arms around the child. "Hey, how are you doing?"

Ben shrugged a little. "Okay . . . I guess. I mean, I guess I _will_ be okay." He pulled out of the embrace and blinked up at his father. "Uncle Luke . . . could you maybe do me a favor?"

"Yes," Luke said instantly. "Anything."

"Bring my sister back."

He said it with such steadiness, such confidence, his eyes wide as he stared up at his uncle, making him shudder. Surely he didn't _actually_ think Luke could . . . did he? "Bring your sister back?" he repeated, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Yes," Ben said with that same eerie steadiness. "The Force can do _anything,_ right? So you can use the Force to bring my sister back."

Why did Ben still think dead people could be brought back to life at age nine? "Ben . . ." Luke chose his words carefully, trying to ignore Han's shortened breaths behind him. ". . . the Force can do a _lot_ of things, but even having the Force doesn't mean you can do _anything._ I . . . I can't bring people back from the dead."

"But my sister didn't even get to _live!"_ Ben persisted. "The Force can't be _that_ unfair!"

"Ben . . . these things just happen sometimes and we have to accept them."

" _Accept_ them?" Ben shouted, his eyes welling up. "I'm s'posed to just _accept_ that my baby sister didn't get to live?"

"There's nothing else we can do about it . . ."

"No!" Ben screamed, two large tears streaming down his face. "No . . . no . . . it's not fair . . . you've GOT to bring her back, you've GOT to!"

"I can't . . ." Luke gulped. "Ben, sometimes . . ."

"NO!" Ben backed away from his uncle, staring up at him in teary horror as if he only now realized that his sister was never coming back. "No, I want my sister, I WANT MY SISTER!"

With that, he pushed past his uncle and father and ran out of the room in a torrent of loud sobs, leaving Luke feeling empty inside.

. . .

That night, Ben lay curled up in bed, his body shaking with sobs, his head hurting, his mind fogged up with his uncle's refusal to bring his sister back. There _had_ to have been a way to bring her back, there _had_ to . . .

" _So, Skywalker refused to bring your sister back."_

There was the voice that had been talking to his mind for as long as he could remember – the voice he couldn't tell anyone about or else it would leave forever. "Yes," he croaked out. "It's not fair, why couldn't he?"

" _He is weak,"_ the voice said.

Ben sniffled. "Wh-what do I do now?"

" _Skywalker is not strong enough to stop death."_ The voice was calm, soothing, fatherly. _"But perhaps someday, you will be."_

THE END


End file.
